The Light Giver
by Silent Atrocity
Summary: As a Huntress and a Paladin of long standing friendship find their lives consumed by a new evil in Azeroth they find that things will never truly be the same between each other.


The light of the room barely made it to the table on the left corner. Patrons came and went about their business in the well known Inn, some drunk off the alcohol and others drunk off of a life. It brought a scowl to her lovely face. She hated this place. She hated how crowded it always was, she hated how disgusting the food was, and she hate how watered down the drinks were. She simply hated and wondered now why she'd agreed to come here.

The door opened and Lylandris found her eyes drift to the door only to find another Orc had arrived and not the person she'd been waiting on. He'd have hell to pay for this. She was tired of people watching. The grins some of them wore brought about an urge to slice them open. She wasn't an evil person, she was simply in a foul mood. Nothing had gone right in the last week and now in this inn, with these people Lyl felt like a caged animal. She wasn't quite sure of the why of the feeling she just did and it made her uneasy. At last deciding that maybe a watered down drink would soothe her nerves, she got to her feet and traipsed her way to the bar.

"Trogg Ale, please." She said in a hurried tone and the bartender was quick to serve it to her. She dug into her pocket pulled out a silver coin and then moved back to her seat but not before tasting the brew. It wasn't bad for once, she was tempted to order another.

"I'm sorry Lylandris. I know I'm late but..." A voice reached out from the other side and Lyl immediately held her hand up to stop them. She settled her pint of Trogg Ale infront of her and slowly let her eyes creep up the form of the Elven Paladin. The silver plate against his body did wonders to accentuate each ripple of his body. The helmet however made him look like a right fool and she had to bite back an insult. It seemed her Paladin friend could see her mocking thoughts about his helmet and quickly pulled it off.

"You're a wretched woman you know that, Lyl!" He hissed at her and it caused the ebon haired Elven woman's lips to curve in a smile. "I haven't even said a word to you yet Tenllus. So calm down, sit down and explain to me why you kept me waiting... again!" She added the last part sharply.

Tenllus stared at her as if measuring his words carefully and Lylandris once again smiled. One of those infamous smiles that could make a man yearn for her and hate her all at once. "Business." The Blond haired Tenllus finally said with a crease of his brows. This made her suspicious and she leaned forward with curiosity. "What sort of 'business'?" She asked him and waited for a reply.

"Part of what I have to talk to you about actually." He finally sat down uninvited and took her ale drowning it in one gulp.

Lylandris felt her curiosity grow, he seemed trouble. His shoulders were hunched forward and the look on his face... "What's going on?" She asked with concern. It was rare for her to put her guard down but certain people incited it and he was one of them.

"Everything. Nothing" He shrugged and for a brief moment part of the carefree Tenllus had come back but she wasn't buying it, not for a second. He relented. "Trouble, what else my sexy Huntress?" He grinned wide showing off those brilliantly white teeth of his that made his face look younger and dangerous all at once. He was a Hunter, deep down he was a Hunter and she wondered if he realized it. With a single smile he could disarm his prey and then he could swoop in for the kill.

"Figures." Lylandris said in a disappointed tone. She reached for the Trogg Ale but realized it was all gone and scowled. "You owe me a drink, Ten Ten." She shot him a smirk and watched as his cheeks went the tiniest shade of pink. "Must you call me that, Lyl?"

"Oh yes, I know how much you love it so why would I stop. Especially in public, don't lie now. Don't try to hide it Ten Ten." She smirked again and watched him turn his head with slight anger. "Oh get over it, Tenllus." She added and laughed. He turned his face to her again and she saw the glint of something in his gaze before it went away. It sobered her up a little and she went back to the matter at hand. "Alright, tell me about this trouble that's got you like this."

He drew in a deep breath and began with a tone as low as possible. "Something is corrupting us. I'm not certain of what or who is causing this but whatever it is it's taking us one by one." He looked troubled and Lylandris sat forward placing a hand on his. "What do you mean, something is corrupting you? Who's 'us'?" Something dark passed through his mind, she could see it writ on his face and it made her shiver ever so much. She was afraid of his answer. Two possibilities came to mind and neither boded well.

"Paladins." He finally answered. "It's like a madness. I saw it for myself. A group of us. Maybe five of us, we were going towards the Plaguelands trying to retrieve something and then it came upon us like a massive tidal wave."

"The Scourge you mean?" She asked with a raised brow. However the look on his face answered her question.

"No, not the Scourge. It wasn't something physical. It was something... ethereal. All I know..." He hesitated before going on. "...I felt my sanity loosen. It was like it was being tugged all over the place and I could barely do anything to stop it. When I saw the others, my brothers and sisters... I felt this urge, such a strong urge to kill them. I saw their bodies falling to my sword, I saw the mighty Light blessing me as I did it. It was... disturbing to say the least." He frowned.

"It could just be an overactive imagination that happens all the..." But the look on his face silenced her. "Ten..." She said softly, she could see his demons written on his face and it made her want to pull him towards her and just hug him something fierce. The silence grew between them until the Elven Paladin finally opened his mouth again.

"Something brought me back from that dark place, Lyl. The others weren't so lucky. They killed each other." He closed his eyes momentarily before eyeing her. "Though to be fair I had a hand in their deaths. It was them or me. I chose me." He went quiet again, in thought.

"It was self defense surely you don't feel guilty for this. But how can you be sure it only targeted Paladins? It could've been something that affected anyone in that area. I'm sorry, I truly am but you shouldn't think that's something's after you so soon." Lylandris sighed.

"I saw a couple of warriors not long after, they were fine." He eyed her. "It targeted us. It wants to corrupt us but for what end? I cannot say." Finally the burden in his gaze lifted somewhat and she could see his composure returning.

"If you're right then it's best you be careful. Talk to your father surely you can confide in him. He can aid you better than I ever can and that's just the simple truth." It hurt to say that to him but she was probably right in this. What use could confiding something this terrible to a Hunter do? Something was after the Paladins it should be easier for them to deal with.

"I trust you. I can't tell him. But I can tell you, I trust you. I know you won't be corrupted like this, I know you can be trusted with my life as well my..." But he stopped himself from saying further.

"Ten..." She spoke with a sigh. "You know we..." He held his hand up and stood. "Tell me you'll help me. You're the only one I want helping me." Something in his tone of voice, it was desperate and it made the Huntress eyes go wide with surprise. He was scared. By the gods, he was scared of what was going on. She understood how dire this situation was now, what she had to do and how she simply couldn't let him do this on his own not with what she just saw on his face.

"I'll help you, you know I will." This seem to ease him, he relaxed even more. "Thank you, Lylandris. There's no one else I'd rather have at my side." He picked up his helmet and placed it on his head. "But first things first. Let's get out of this place. It smells like wet cow mixed in with yellow, Orc Fungus." He smiled smarmily and Lyl laughed as she rose from her seat. "It does. But I agree let's get out of here and try to start on our game plan." She started for the door with him by her side before coming to a halt.

"Something tells me we're going to have people singing about this little journey." She cast him a mischievous look. "Don't embarrass me or I'll have to make you suffer." And she stepped out of the Inn knowing that somehow this day would be the start of a different life for them both.

_**Disclaimer: **_Lylandris is my own character on Warcraft while Tenllus is a friend's character. Hope I'm doing him justice! Of course Warcraft is owned by Blizzard which means they're the ones to thank for my 'hubby' Thrall. So thank you Blizzard!


End file.
